The San Diego Legion defeated the Seattle Seawolves 40-19 Sunday at Snapdragon Stadium, to end the season with a Major League Rugby-record 13th straight win.
The Legion, undefeated at home on the year, will host a playoff game at 3 p.m. July 2, taking on the winner of next weekend’s game between Seattle (12-4) and Houston (10-6).
The Legion’s record, 15-1, not only secured them first place in the MLR’s Western Conference and a bye as the No. 1 seed, but also broke the mark for most wins in league history.
The New England Free Jacks (14-2) are the Eastern Conference’s top seed. Rugby New York (8-8) and Old Glory DC (7-8) will fight it out for the chance to face New England.
The Legion narrowly defeated Seattle, 23-20, in their first meeting this season on April 8 on the road.
The team has picked up considerable momentum since, and in Sunday’s win, tries were scored by Finn Kearns (8’), Mikey Te’o (32’), Jason Higgins (40’), Josh Henderson (49’), Ryan Matyas (51’), and Higgins again (73’).
Nate Augsperger, a leading candidate for Major League Rugby Player of the Year, has paced the team with 10 tries on the season, while Tomas Aoake, who has scored five tries in the last four games, is second with nine. Richard Judd follows with seven, while Christian Poidevin and Te’o have five apiece.
To mark the finale, the U.S. Navy Leap Frogs parachute team dropped into the stadium prior to the match. Following the contest, DJ Blake played a show on the stadium concourse featuring a country-music mix.
The MLR Championship game is set for July 8 outside Chicago at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill.
